~ Quotes and Teachings from Don Juan and Carlos Castaneda ~

A warrior is never under siege. To be under siege implies that one has personal possessions that could be blockaded. A warrior has nothing in the world except his impeccability, and impeccability cannot be threatened. Nonetheless, in a battle for one's life a warrior should strategically use every means available. We must live our lives impeccably for no other reason than to be impeccable.



A warrior has nothing in the world except his or her impeccability. Impeccability is defined as being perfect or having no flaws; incapable of wrongdoing. However, in the warrior sense impeccability is to save or conserve energy. Impeccability is nothing else but the proper use of energy. This statement has no inkling of morality. When we have saved energy that makes us impeccable. To understand this, we have to save enough energy ourselves.



An unconquerable pessimism overtakes a warrior at a certain point on his path. A sense of defeat, or perhaps more accurately, a sense of unworthiness, comes upon her or him almost unawares. A warrior's resolution to live impeccably in spite of everything cannot be approached as a strategy to ensure success. The warrior enters into a state of unsurpassed humility; when the true poverty of our human resources becomes undeniable, the warrior has no recourse but to step back and lower his head. It is monstrous to think that the world is understandable or that we ourselves are understandable. What we are perceiving is an enigma, a mystery that one can only accept in humbleness and awe. The two sides of a human being are totally separate and it takes great discipline and determination to break that seal and go from one side to the other. We have been put together by forces incomprehensible to our reason. The only thing we do not have is time. Every minute might be our last; therefore, it has to be lived with the spirit.



I am going to disclose to you a warrior's secret. Perhaps you can call it a warrior's predilection. The life of a warrior cannot possibly be cold and lonely and without feelings because it is based on their affection, their devotion, their dedication to their beloved. And who, you ask, is their beloved? I will show you now. A warrior's love is the world. They embrace this enormous earth. The earth knows that they love it and it bestows on them its care. That's why their life is filled to the brim and their state, wherever they'll be, will be plentiful. They roams on the paths of their love and, wherever they are, they are complete. This is the predilection of a warrior. This earth, this world. For a warrior there can be no greater love. Only if one loves this earth with unbending passion can one release one's sadness. A warrior is always joyful because their love is unalterable and their beloved, the earth, embraces them and bestows upon them inconceivable gifts.
~ Carlos Castaneda
"Tales of Power"